


in which Mickey is searching for a friend, and Aqua helps in what ways she can

by rarmaster



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 16:10:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9191345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarmaster/pseuds/rarmaster
Summary: Imagine: Mickey finds Aqua in the gap between KH1 and Chain of Memories, just after losing track of Riku.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was part of something bigger, but I don't think the rest of it will ever see the light of day, so take this from me. It's already debunked anyway, and 2.8 isn't even out yet. (My heart will always have a soft spot for "the way Mickey got to Castle Oblivion only took him, and not Aqua, and he's real torn up about it.)

“Aqua, do you think you could help me?” Mickey asked. He looked up at her earnestly. Alone, he could not sense out Riku, but, maybe together…

“Um…” Aqua hesitated a few moments, but then she nodded. “Yes. I can try. What do you need?”

“Well, you can sense other people’s hearts, can’t ya?” Most Keyblade Wielders could, but, there was no telling whether or not Aqua’d been able to learn, before…

She nodded, though. “Yes. Master Eraqus always said I was very good at that.”

Mickey beamed. “Great! Y’see, I was traveling with someone—a boy, and I managed to lose him. He’s probably alright by himself, but, in a place like this, I’m a little worried. I don’t know if he can face this darkness alone.”  Or, rather, he didn’t want Riku to _have_ to face this darkness alone.

Aqua nodded again, more gravely, this time.

“I understand,” she said. “But I’m not so sure I can help. I’ve never met him before.”

“That’s alright!” Mickey assured her, quickly. He held out his hands. “We’ll do this together.”

Aqua looked at him for a moment, whatever she was feeling clouded by a steely expression he’d rarely seen her drop since finding her here. She reached out her hands to take his, though. They did not tremble, like he’d almost expected them to. And, despite her long years here, her hands were still warm. Mickey sent her and encouraging smile, and then they both closed their eyes.

Before they could do anything else, they’d have to form a connection with each other. Mickey reached out, searching for Aqua’s heart signature with his senses. It didn’t take long to find her. She was warm, and bright, and weary. Incredibly weary. Mickey had to take a deep breath at the feel of it.

Connections were cautious—they had to be, lest you did something permanent on accident. It was only a second, a pause between breaths, before he felt Aqua’s heart link with his. There. That was part one.

Now Mickey pictured Riku, in his mind’s eye. And, more than just how he looked, how he _felt._ Young, a little dark, but mainly just kind of scared and trying to hide it. It wasn’t easy to convey heart signatures to someone else, but, that was what the connection was for. It may not have been easy, but it was definitely easier when you didn’t have to use words.

“I got it,” Aqua said, after a few seconds. “Hang on.”

Mickey felt her reach out, and he reached out with her, with his heart. Combined, they should reach father, and see better. For a long while, there was nothing but darkness, darkness like the realm they stood in, barren of anyone but themselves. Except, _there_. Their combined senses touched a place that was brighter, at least by a little bit. A way out of the Realm of Darkness, maybe? No, hang on.

Yes, there! That felt a little like Riku. They’d have to reach closer, to be sure, but—

Aqua suddenly recoiled, her connection with Mickey breaking, and with it, his ability to sense all the way to where Riku was. Mickey opened his eyes, worriedly looking Aqua over. Her face was scrunched up with distaste.

“Aqua…?” he asked, cautiously. Had something happened, and he not noticed? It had felt like everything was fine.

“Xehanort,” she said. Her voice was so quiet, he might have missed it, had this world not already been blanketed in silence. “I thought I felt…” She shook her head, though, and louder, said: “It was nothing. I’m fine.”

Mickey pursed his lips together, but not with worry for her. The thing was, he had his suspicions about the ‘Ansem’ that Sora and Donald and Goofy had fought. And, that Ansem had used Riku’s body, for a while. Maybe…

“Sorry about that,” Aqua said, distracting Mickey. “We’ll try again. Maybe in a different direction…?”

“No, no, we almost had him, I’m sure of it,” Mickey argued. Aqua’s eyes widened for split second. “Well, here, I think I can do it myself, now that I know which direction to look,” Mickey said. No sense making Aqua do that again, if she didn’t want to.

“Oh! It’s alright,” Aqua told him, a little quickly. “If you’re sure you sensed him, then. We’ll give it another shot.” She sent him a look which was supposed to be reassuring, but Mickey knew better. He’d felt the thrill of discomfort and what might have been fear, in the moment right before she’d broken their link.

“If that’s okay,” Mickey said, just to give her another chance to back out.

She nodded, though, a sting of impatience in her voice. “Yes! It’s okay.” She held out her hands to him.

Mickey took a deep breath, and then, with the most encouraging smile he could muster to throw at Aqua, took her hands and reached out with his heart. The connection between them formed quicker, this time—it always got easier the more you did it, and, you had to be careful about that, too.

Reaching out to where Riku was was easier this time, as well. They found him nestled in that place of darkness but not-quite-darkness. Aqua flinched reflexively, but she didn’t break the link.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “That’s definitely Xehanort.”

Mickey’s concentration wavered a second, surprised by the certainty in her voice, as well as her words. What would Xehanort be doing…? No, there was no time. Riku. He could feel Riku, and that Riku was in trouble. In a second of worry for his friend, he forgot to be careful.

He latched out and formed a connection with Riku. Connections like this did not work in any sort of way that he could see through Riku’s eyes, or hear through Riku’s ears, but he could sense what was going on in Riku’s heart. The darkness clouding it, the fear, the worries…

Ansem, back, somehow. Riku, about to give up. And through it, Riku’s broken voice.

‘ _Am I nothing, without the darkness? Am I nothing, without…?’_

 _You’re wrong!!_ Mickey shouted, with his heart and not his mouth. A leap of his power to Riku was no easy task, especially not from this distance, especially not this way—and Aqua, dragged along for it, unless she’d broken contact—but there was no time for anything else.

‘ _What—? Your Majesty!?’_

_That’s right! It’s me, Riku. Don’t worry—you’re not alone!_

He poured a little of his light, a little of his strength, into Riku. Enough to push away the darkness, enough to push away the doubt. And, hopefully, enough to hold off Ansem. ( _Xehanort,_ Aqua had said, and _Xehanort,_ Mickey had feared for a while now, but, there was no time, no time, no time—)

 _Just believe,_ Mickey said. Between his own intuition, and sensing which doubts that swirled in Riku’s heart, he took a good guess at the words Riku needed to hear. _The light will always find you, wherever you are, Riku. You know that. There will always be a light, even in the deepest darkness._

 _‘…I got it,’_ Riku said, slowly. ‘ _Thanks.’_

Mickey wished he could stay to hear more, but… He made himself pull away, back to his own body, back to the Realm of Darkness, back to—

Aqua! Mickey opened his eyes again, and found her pulling her hands away, shoulders drooping some with exhaustion. She did not waver much, though, nor sit down. She simply took steady breaths, and stayed on her feet.

“Sorry about that,” Mickey told her, laughing uneasily. “Minnie always told me I was too hasty.”

Aqua shook her head. “That’s alright. You felt him too, didn’t you?” There was urgency in her voice. “He was there! Xehanort was there. The other presence with, with Riku…”

Mickey nodded, to show her he understood.

“Yeah, I… well…” He paused. “I- I had a feeling, that, he might be… Well.” Mickey swallowed. “Yeah. I guess that was Xehanort.” He wasn’t sure how to explain his suspicions about Ansem to Aqua, when she didn’t even know who Ansem was. “But… he kinda felt like not-Xehanort, right?”

Misery swept across Aqua’s face. “He felt a little like Terra.”

“I…” Mickey began. He could not say the same—he’d only met Terra in passing, he didn’t know what Terra felt like—except, a little like Xehanort, apparently, but that was to be expected, and anyway…

He could not say the same, about feeling Terra, _but_...

“You mean Xehanort was using Terra’s body too, huh?” he asked, so Aqua would not feel like she had to explain. He and Yen Sid had had their suspicions. The tightness in Aqua’s eyes only confirmed it. Mickey’s heart turned over in sadness.

“Yes…” Aqua said, and she swallowed. “He took over Terra’s body, and, we fought… And there was so much darkness, and not enough time, and I had to save him—! That’s… That’s how I ended up here.”

“I’m sorry.”

He was sorry for a lot of reasons, just not sure how to put any of them into words. He was sorry she was here. Sorry she’d had to fight Terra. Sorry he hadn’t tried to do anything, about Terra, about Xehanort. He’d known—kinda known—but hadn’t tried to save Terra. He didn’t know Terra as well as he knew Ven or Aqua, and hadn’t been sure enough in himself to try, especially when the Xehanort that was Ansem’s—the _real_ Ansem’s—apprentice couldn’t even remember anything, and…

Aqua sent him a small, sad smile.

“Don’t be, Mickey,” she said. “Most of this is my fault anyway.”

That only made Mickey feel worse. He knew the look of a friend who was doubting themselves well, and he wanted to help her, but—wait a minute! Riku. He’d almost forgotten. He’d probably done enough to ensure Riku’d be alright, but, he better check.

“Uh, if you’ll give me a moment, Aqua, I need to try ’n reach Riku again, alright?” he said.

“Will you need my help?” Aqua offered. She sounded exhausted, and asked like she really didn’t want to help, but, she still offered. That was nice of her.

Mickey smiled kindly, and shook his head.

“That’s alright! Now that I know where Riku is, I should be able to find him myself. Thanks, though!”

“Sure. I’ll watch for Heartless.”

She turned away from him, then, watching out down the path ahead of them. She didn’t move around, or summon her Keyblade or anything, she just… stood there. Watching. Mickey himself would’ve ended up pacing, probably.

Oh well.

Mickey closed his eyes again, and put his hands over his chest. He reached out with his senses, to the place where they’d felt Riku before, and… There he was! He sent a little bit of power that way.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in front of Riku. Well, not exactly. This was just a bit of magic, some of the little he knew. It would have to do, for now, until he—and Aqua!—could make it to this place themselves.

“Your Majesty!” Riku jolted at the sight of him. Relief swam in his eyes, only to be clouded by confusion. “Wait… What happened? I can see right through you!”

Mickey looked down at himself, and, sure enough, he was transparent. This was all he could manage, though. “Sorry about that,” he said. “I can only send a bit of my power to this place. That’s why I’ve got a request.”

“A request…?”


End file.
